Monthly Archives: July 2014

Until a few night ago, I wasn’t aware of what a Virtual Blog Tour was. That is until Ms. Miia from Pearlspotting extended an invitation to take part one. Of course I gladly accepted!

So what is a Virtual Blog Tour? Each week on Monday the blog post is posted answering questions about the bloggers creativity and inspiration process. At the end of the post that blogger then introducing the next blogger for the following Monday to answer the same questions and then introduce another blogger, and so on. The end goal is connecting bloggers and building a bigger blog community together.

is a project that asks each participant to compose a one-time post to be published on a specific Monday. Its purpose is to introduce different bloggers through a series of questions about the creative process and what inspires us to do what we do. The same set of questions will introduce a blogger to another blogger’s readers, as well as the wider blogging community.

1. What am I working on?

Seeing the world! I’m chomping at the bit to get my passport pages filled with all sorts of exciting destinations. I know my husband is reading this and is in complete shock! Just kidding, trust me…this man knows I am ready to flop that suitcase onto our bed, throw in the bare necessities and be on my way, anytime and travel anywhere.

I remember quite often when I was little girl spinning a globe with my eyes closed, letting my finger glide across the countries and oceans, letting it come to a stop and seeing where my finger landed. Of course at that point I’d start planning out my fairytale life. You know summer cottage castle in Ireland, main cottage home in Paris, etc. It was addicting then and never ever did I think it would stick within my soul into adulthood.

I’m incredibly blessed to have married a man who is just as passionate about traveling, or at the very least, passionate to show me the world. Experiencing new cultures, tasting new foods, meeting and making new friends, it’s what makes me tick and he knows it. Thanks Mr. B.

Where to next? That’s a great question! The possibilities are endless and you will just have to stay tuned and travel along with us via Instagram, Facebook, or the Blog. (Don’t mind the shameless plug).

2. How does my work differ from others in it’s genre?

I’d like to say that I’ve got some mind-blowing work here, but we’re really just a rather typical couple that enjoys a normal expat life between the US and South Korea. You won’t find any sort of grumbling and life might come off darn near perfect when you read the blog post. That’s because life is perfect! Kidding again, we’ve all got those cloudy days or weeks, gosh dare I say months even? Yep, we are human too, but I choose to keep my style light and cheery with a strong emphasis on lifestyle and travel. Just as my blog style, I adore reading upbeat travel and lifestyle blogs too. Often my blogger buddies are expats in Europe or surrounding areas. (Thanks Miia from Pearlspotting).

3. Why do I write/create what I do?

When I dropped the bomb on my dear family and friends that I was moving not only out-of-state, but also to another country, I knew I needed to create a method to share our daily life with them all to know that we were okay not living in a hut in the middle of a rice paddy (Not that I wouldn’t enjoy that too). Blogging was a perfect solution! My biggest fans are my grandparents. They are regulars and have told me that thanks to the blog they can tell the difference when identifying Asians. This might seem little, but it HUGE! (We’re from a very small town in Pennsylvania, let’s just say cultural diversity isn’t the biggest thing going on there).

I also blog to encourage anyone like us from a small town to jump outside of their comfort zones and experience new places. What’s stopping you, besides yourself?! Get out and go! Remember one life, it’s short, make the most of it!

4. How does your writing creative process work?

I really try to be consistent with my blogging. There are times that I skip a weekend or weeknight and need a break, but typically my OCD gets the best of me and I get on with blogging. I find blogging and writing to be very therapeutic and release all of the tangled thoughts inside my head. It reminds me of journaling and that’s something I really enjoyed throughout my life.

My blog post are from various adventures in restaurant and cafe hopping, cooking, photography, life and travel. I just write whatever I’m up to at the moment and what I think my family and friends might enjoy experiencing along with me too.

I spoke a ton about traveling on my virtual blog tour, I think I used the word travel about ten times. Eek! Ah well, that’s the definition of true obsession passion, right? Continuing right along with the topic of travel, It gives me pleasure to introduce Ms. Valerie of To & Fromage.

To & Fromage is a blog that I found myself so intrigued with, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to share with the rest of you as well. Each time I visit the stylish little blog, the photos pull me in and made me long to visit each destination. Ms. Valerie lives with her husband and together they share their adventures in food, style and travel. I know without a doubt that you will love To & Fromage as much as I do. Happy exploring!

Keeping with the same mantra, determined to squeeze every ounce of summer out of the season, I met up with Kelsey in Seoul early Saturday morning. Of course it was drizzling on again, off again. You know the rain that makes you feeling like someone is constantly misting you? Yep, that was the type. We had umbrellas so we didn’t let it spoil our plans or fun.

We started out by treating ourselves with a pedicure. We both struggled not to fall asleep in the chairs and thought maybe, just maybe, this should have been the final stop of our adventure? LOL! (I know what you are thinking right about now…life is hard,right?)

With our freshly painted tootsies, we headed to an area near Insadong that I wanted to share with Kelsey. I adore the Bukchon Village area, it has lots of sparkle and tons of areas for her to snap photos of the city.

The first stop was at Brick and Wood. This is a ridiculously charming brunch, lunch or dinner spot! I stumbled upon the place the last time that I took a quiet saunter with Mary while in the area. I had only went into the bakery last time and knew just from that I needed to get back to enjoy the restaurant too.

The space is rustic yet has a fun modern flair with its old wooden floors and it’s open, airy, exposed brick and concrete walls. The kitchen is out in the open and made us feel like they were preparing private dishes just for us. I love nothing more than to take a peek on how chefs are preparing dishes and the techniques they are using.

We hit the Bukchon Hanok Village area at a perfect time! The rain kept the large crowds tamed. We strolled casually all over, checking out tiny little boutiques, stopping to smell flowers, making friends with two handsome pups and their British owner, admiring the views, people watching, and of course enjoying green tea potbingsu at the Café Terrace.

(See the couple below?) They were the sweetest couple attempting to take a selfie under the we are young graffiti, so we offered to take the photo for them. They were so pleased with the offer they insisted on taking our photo too! Kelsey and I were swooning over the couples cuteness because we could tell they were just newly dating.

You must excuse me for the lack of post from last weekend. The majority of our July has been spent staying outside until the last very last second possible, or until the rain moves in. We are in monsoon season here in S.Korea so getting out and about when the sun is shining is imperative if you are trying to squeeze every ounce of “clear” sky out of the dwindling summer.

We trekked slowly up the base of Soyosan to marvel at the lush green trees. Soyosan is prime people watching too! During the hot season’s Korean’s often lounge and cool themselves in the trickling streams that come off the base of the mountain. You never know what you might see or get invited to join.

I have a new Korean friendship blossoming and we enjoyed a really nice dinner together at a unique little restaurant near both of our homes. We dined on duck and a soup made of perilla leaves.

Not familiar with perilla leaves? Don’t worry it is most likely because it grows in Korea, China, Nepal and India. It’s a flavor I really cannot explain. The taste is quite pungent and has a nutty peppery taste to it. It is a herb that is often referred to a wild sesame. I was told that this heart-shaped leaf is a Korean staple and you can find it almost year round served in Korean homes. Plus it gets better! Of course it has healing components to it as well. If you are feeling tired, suffer from frequent headaches, need some anti-inflammatory relief, detoxify fish poisoning, combats morning sickness. WHOA! Talk about a marvelous little leaf!

We hopped on an AM train into Seoul and ran about in the on again off again rain to a vegan bakery called PLANT owned and operated by the sweetest girl, Mipa. Enjoyed a peanut Thai bowl and grilled chickpea sandwich. Both incredibly sumptuous and we shared one anther’s lunch family style. We are family after all! We then went to Maybell Bakery where I introduced Kelsey to a fabulous European bakery with freshly baked focaccia, baguette, croissants. I think it’s safe to say she’s in heaven.

You guys, my Amaryllis belladonna bloomed again over night! Check it out! I’m like a giddy child on Christmas when I wake up rub my sleepy eyes these past mornings and roll out to the living room and see this happy little guy in all it’s glory! I stopped by Cafe Jerry’s to see how hers was doing too…not to shabby, not to shabby. Little thing in life we cherish.

This morning I woke up and knew I wanted to do something special for Kelsey, let’s just say life hasn’t given her forgiving fourways lately. For those of you not in Korea, I know you’re wondering what this silly gal is rambling on about, so I’ll share. In S. Korea while driving if you cut someone off, make a left turn from the right lane of traffic, or do any other really outlandish driving, it’s absolutely okay! Why? Because all you need to do is hit the forgiving fourways (hazards), all is instantly made right again and all parties drive on. Oh Korea.

Anywho, when life gives you lemons make Rachael Ray’s lemon ricotta pancakes! Throw in a side of turkey bacon, fresh berries and a refreshing bubbly raspberry lemonade. Mmmmhmmm! Got your attention? Thought so. This recipe was used recently by a friend for a birthday breakfast celebration with rave reviews. Those reviews were spot on! Happy belated birthday Kara!

The 4th of July is one of those holidays that we Bees really crave a good ol’ BBQ, the rays from the sunshine, fireworks that light up the night sky, lounging by the pool, or on beach with your close friends and family. We almost had it all checked off the list this year, minus being 6,875 miles from the Pennsylvania and most of our family. Almost…

We headed to the East Coast of South Korea and Mr. B finally got in some diving and I some much-needed R+R+R (rest, relaxation, reading). Kelsey joined up with us on Saturday afternoon along with some fun friends from the UK, South Africa, Korea and the US. We learned all sorts of useful British and Korean words — crisps, brass monkey and chincha. HA-HA.

Waking up each morning and falling asleep each night with the sounds of the ocean waves crashing against the rocks right outside of the resort windows was so calming. The view was breathtaking even when the fog rolled in over the boat harbor. I couldn’t contain myself with all of the gorgeous wild flowers popping up all around too.

In the morning we really roughed it by grilling on our little Korean stove top with our cast iron skillet. Wakey wakey eggs and bakey. We actually had quite the little spread going for “roughing it”. Greek yogurt, red grapes, blackberries, English muffins with the nooks and crannies, because really is there any other kind? In the evening of course we had our BBQ and a nice selection of condiments.

The dive shop owner had the sweetest Boston terrier dog named 사랑 salang, korean word for love. Ohhh and how I loved this dog! It was so playful yet reserved and chill. It walked around playing a game with us all. she’d find plastic bottles and random items from the divers, latch onto it then wanted people to try to take whatever it was from her. She salang was sweet.

I strolled over to the observatory one morning, then again to show Kelsey too. What a wonderful ocean view and breeze felt from up there! I could have stayed out in that ledge all day. The deck had clear glass floor that allowed you to view the ocean below your feet. It reminded me so much of being in Chicago with the glass observation deck. You never know quite how people are going to react. Even in a different language body language is all the same.

The Backpack Bees blog contains affiliate links and as part of an advertising program. The site may make a commission from purchases, or clicks you choose to make.
Why we participate? These companies and sponsors are what make it possible for Backpack Bees to continue to grow and share regularly with all of you. Many, many, heartfelt thank's for all of your support!